Ashtaroth
Ashtaroth (referred as Baldinar by Sieghart) is the mini-boss of Valstrath, preceding the boss (Ashtaroth's familiar), Mynos. He is a loyalist to the Ascendant God, though he betrayed him and stole his powers. He also appears in the Boss Gate of Xenia. However, unlike the encounter in Valstrath, he can be killed. History In Valstrath, Ashtaroth appeared because he attempted to get rid of these "worms" that meddled with his God. Intercepted by Vanessa, his plan fails, and leaves to watch over them. Although Amy gets infuriated as he's "spying" on them, Vanessa advises that Ashtaroth was just being cautious, though he was supposed to guard his master's temple. After defeating Thanatos, Ashtaroth comes back to take his Orb of Ascendancy, and flees to Archimedia. Before he does so, he realizes that Sieghart and Mari are the two last survivors of Kounat, and mentions that all the Highlanders were exterminated by his hand. In the events of Thunder Hammer, Void steals the Deity Orbs and brings them to Ashtaroth. At the same time, Ashtaroth uses the Orb of Ascendancy to unseal demons. Mari, who had most of her memories returned, theorizes that Ashtaroth is using the Deity Orbs to create an object called the Soul Stone to wreak havoc yet again. During the events of the Underworld Express, Ashtaroth appeared once again to attack the Grand Chase with his newly formed Soul Stone (though Sieghart knew that the Soul Stone is unstable without Mari). He claimed that he used the stone against the Kanavan Royal Guard and the Violet Mage Guild to "test" its power, much to Ronan and Arme's dismay. As he was about to finish off the group, a mysterious elf named Grandiel appeared and told the Grand Chase to enter a portal that will lead to the Underworld Express Train to save Harpe's soul. Attacks Ashtaroth's attacks are mostly a mix of sword play and magic. He has a basic combo he uses which can trap the players, and ends with a small burst of magic. He can also shoot out a small ball of energy that shoots out in a straight line and disappears off the edge of the stage or if it hits a player; he lets out a small chuckle before the move actually releases, allowing players to try and get out of the way. Ashtaroth can also use an attack similar to the Spell Knight's Kanavan Strike, but with a much wider range. Sometimes he jumps up and does an attack that is similar to the Muse's Magic Move. Once the players "defeat" him (bring his HP down halfway), he uses an attack similar to the Battle Mage's Deep Impact that doesn't hurt the players, as it is part of a cutscene. He does use this move occasionally in the next room, as he is a part of the battle, hanging in the top right of the stage. Players cannot attack him without using a glitch. Any buff that Ashtaroth has transfers into his meteors as well. He can hurt players with the mentioned skill during the boss battle, denoted with a "DANGER" warning, and if he has a special status (petrify, freezing, etc.) it can affect the players if they are hit. When the warning comes, layers then must hide in the very bottom left corner of the stage near Vanessa or they can die. There is also an uncommon glitch that will result in Ashtaroth fighting alongside Mynos itself, triggered by hitting Ashtaroth when he does the danger attack. Appearances *Valstrath *Fortress of Ascension (Dialogue) *Hammer's Reach (Mentioned) *Thunder Hammer (Mentioned) *Underworld Express 301 (Dialogue) Trivia thumb|300px|right|Defeating Ashtaroth (Glitch) *This glitch as shown in this video is done by hitting him at some time while the DANGER warning is present. While he gets knocked out, he will attack players like in the previous room. He will return back to his position if he attempts to cast Deep Impact again, forcing players to repeat the process. If the players manage to defeat him, Ashtaroth is removed from the battle, and he makes a loud "Ching" sound. If the DANGER appears again, no meteor shower will occur. **It has been confirmed this tactic is not glitch abuse, as there is no advantage to winning over Ashtaroth (negative outcome: wasted time). **It appears that this glitch has been patched. *There is an uncommon glitch that the Meteor might land near or on top of Vanessa, which may kill the player. Simply put, its better to hug the wall rather than stay next to her. *Due to the fact that his fighting style is almost the equivalent of Ronan's as a Spell Knight, players speculate that he may have been one of the Queen of Kanavan's guardians before the main storyline of the game, though this is highly unlikely. *Ashtaroth is suggested to be modeled after Magnus Dan because of their similar looks and their abilities. *His name is derived from Astaroth, a powerful demon. *The fact that Ashtaroth is actually a demon is supported when he destroyed the Highlanders, attacked Kounat, and tries to unseal all other demonic dimensions during the events on Archimedia. *He wears the Grand Champion Set that was released during the Champion Ticket Event. *Technically he is the "True" boss of Valstrath, not Mynos. Mynos is his "minion." *Ashtaroth is the only non-boss to be summoned from a Boss Gate. *Project EF shows Ashtaroth's return and will later reveal his plots. *Translations toward Project EF states that Ashtaroth is the "prince of hell", and will soon become a god. Category:Bosses and Enemies Category:Story Category:Characters